The film is nevertheless a smash hit in Saudi Arabia, where movie theaters were outlawed as recently as 2018. The kingdom had banned previous straight-to-DVD Barbie movies for portraying equal gender roles.
Topline. Barbie was pulled from theaters in Algeria this week, joining a growing list of countries that, despite the summer blockbuster's widespread success, have banned the film because of its themes of gender and sexuality or because of the film's alleged use of a controversial map.
No local movie theater, including Novo Cinemas and VOX, lists the movie as a "current" or "upcoming release." The countries that imposed this ban include Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The Barbie movie seemed to tread on sensitive cultural norms and values in the Middle East.
However, a source at the Censorship on Artistic Works, the official body which assigns ratings to artworks and monitors adherence to societal morals and values, told Ahram Online that Barbie is officially rated 12+ in Egypt. Worldwide, the film is rated at PG 13 (Parental Guidance if under 13).
Is the new Barbie movie going to be inappropriate?
Mature Themes in Barbie
A lot of the plot of the film revolves around mature themes like the patriarchy and gender-based discrimination and stereotyping. While these themes aren't necessarily inappropriate for most kids, they may not fully understand what the characters are implying either.
The EYE-OPENING TRUTH Muslims MISSED in Barbie 2023
Does the Barbie movie have Lgbtq?
While the film does not dive into trans identity, Barbie still manages to touch upon LGBTQ+ issues without naming them as such. In fact, the film features several openly LGBTQ+ actors, like Hari Nef, Kate McKinnon, Alexandra Shipp, and Scott Evans.
Kuwait and Vietnam have banned the film, while Lebanon has moved to bar the film from theaters. As the "Barbie" craze spreads across the globe, there are some countries that have either banned or moved to prohibit the release of the billion-dollar film.
In Lebanon, some officials evidently sought to prohibit the film for its LGBTQ themes and presentation of marriage and family, echoing the rise in anti-LGBTQ sentiment propagated by Iran-backed Hezbollah, which controls much of the government.
A court has barred sales in Mexico of a controversial Frida Kahlo Barbie doll, ruling that members of her family own the sole rights to her image. The toy company Mattel launched a range of new Barbie dolls based on "inspiring women" - artist Frida Kahlo among them.
The ban stemmed from a drawing of a world map in the film that authorities in Vietnam said depicted the “nine-dash line,” which is a feature on some Chinese maps indicating the disputed territorial claims of China in the South China Sea.
In 1996, a government-backed children's agency called Barbie a “Trojan horse” for sneaking Western influences, like makeup and revealing clothes, into the country. The authorities started confiscating the dolls from stores in 2002, denouncing what they called the toys' un-Islamic characteristics.
This section discusses the way in which Barbie's hyper-sexualized physique directly defied Indian cultural norms regarding sexuality and gender, ultimately leading to Mattel removing the Barbie doll from the Indian mass market.
movie “Barbie” has apologized for its U.S. parent company's reaction to social media posts about the “Barbenheimer” blitz that combined images of Barbie and a mushroom cloud. The memes triggered criticisms in Japan for what many described as minimizing the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The ban was issued by the nation's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's Cinema Department, which cited the movie's depiction of what appears to be “the illicit 'nine-dash line' that China uses to illegally claim its sovereignty over most of the East Vietnam Sea,” according to Tuổi Trẻ.
Algeria has banned the popular Barbie film three weeks after its release in the mainly Muslim North African nation. The culture ministry has asked cinemas to withdraw the Hollywood blockbuster immediately.
“The most commonly identified reason for not wanting to play with the curvy doll was her larger size,” Dr Harriger said. Curvy Barbie is similar in height to petite Barbie, but has a more rounded stomach, thicker legs and no gap between her thighs. She is still larger than the average woman.
Iran's religious rulers first declared Barbie, made by U.S. company Mattel Inc, un-Islamic in 1996, citing its "destructive cultural and social consequences." Despite the ban, the doll has until recently been openly on sale in Tehran shops.
Multiple forms of media including books, newspapers, magazines, films, television, and content published on the Internet are censored in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government closely monitors media and restricts it under official state law.
“The UAE Media Council has granted the Barbie movie the approval to be screened in the UAE's licensed cinemas after completing the necessary procedures in line with the standards of media content and the UAE age classification,” the authority clarified. If playback doesn't begin shortly, try restarting your device.
Calling all Barbie fans. The Barbie Saudi release date has been confirmed. You can watch the Barbie movie in Saudi cinemas now. The highly anticipated film was released on Thursday August 10.
The screening of the Hollywood movie Barbie was briefly halted in theatres across Punjab province in Pakistan over "objectionable content". The film was later allowed to be screened after removing dialogues that "promoted homosexuality". Barbie was released in theatres worldwide on Friday (July 21).
It solidifies the understanding that reproductive health is an integral part of overall health. I hope that will be one of the main takeaways from the scene, which is that every girl, every woman, every person who has female reproductive organs should seek regular preventive care to address their reproductive health.
3 in 4 conservative men say Barbie improved their view of women in leadership roles. Similarly, the majority (97%) of viewers say before watching the movie they had a 'very favorable' (63%) or 'somewhat favorable' (32%) opinion of women in leadership.
It is a compilation of many beautiful aspects of life as a woman, and it's touching that Barbie wants to carve out her own path in a similar vein. But I think the more extraordinary realization — the one that was behind my tears — was that Barbie came to the real world, saw so many of its flaws and loved it anyway.
